Landraces of tequila's plants: fibres, sugars and tequila

Ana G. Valenzuela-ZapataUniversidad de Guadalajara CUCIENEGA

Postdoctoral researcher Ghent University-ITESO

Agave and Bioenergy Workshop, may 12-13 2010, CUCEA UDG Guadalajara Energy Biosciences Institute

Agave Plant diversity

• Low diversity - Industrialised agriculture-

blue agave

• High diversity in farmers- in situ

conservation landraces

• Ex situ conservation

Low diversity in blue agave plantations

Production systems of agave

Traditions and conservation in situ

A sample of agave species in Europe

La Mortola Italy Cordoba Spain

Geneve, Suisse Strasbourg Fr

1985

• Low diversity-high pressure: industrial agriculture

• High diversity-low pressure: traditional farmers

From the agave symposium 1985

Tequila Agave Group TAG sensu Pérez, 1887

1. Azul Agave tequilana Weber 2. Sigüín3. Criollo o pata de mula4. Zopilote5. Moraleño6. Bermejo7. Chato• Mano larga-mano anchaque• Cucharo

Cultivate: a cultivated plant withknown wild ancestors.

Cultigen: a plant known to existonly in cultivation.

Gentry, 1982

definitions

• References: Trelease, 1920 Gentry, 1982 but

also Colunga-GarciaMarín and Hogdson,

Nobel, Nabhan, Garcia-Moya, Illsey, Larson,

Eguiarte, Garcia and more!

• Agave growers interviews

• Searching and Collecting plants

• Planting and propagating species for to

have more materials

• Specimens preparation

• Measurements in fresh plants

• Vouchers in herbarium

Methods

Results

Two groups of plants

1. Tequilana’s Group sensu ValenzuelaAgave tequilana W (azul) or A. angustifolia ssp tequilana

Cv azul, siguin, criollo o pata de mula and variegata

2. Others

A. Agave americana subtilis cv “chato or sahuayo” B. Cultigens “moraleño” and “bermejo” from Sisalana

groupC. A. rhodacantha cv “zopilote” (flowering in 2008)

Tequila Agave Group TAG sensu Pérez, 1887

• 1997 agave collection1. Azul Agave tequilana Weber 2. Sigüín

• Criollo o pata de mula• Zopilote

3. Moraleño4. Bermejo5. Chato

– Mano larga-mano anchaque– Cucharo

Results

A. angustifolia ssp tequilana Sisalanae A. americana subtilis

Azul

Siguin

Moraleño

Bermejo

Chato

A. angustifolia ssp tequilana

Sisalanae

A. americana subtilis

Sisalanae

• Sisalana group’s cultivars inhibited tequila fermentation

• Hard fibres of A. americana subtilis(chato) caused mechanical problems in tequila production

• The tequila agave group, related to blue agave, also had less fibres and a short flowering cycle

A. angustifolia ssp. tequilanacv. sigüín

A. angustifoliassp. tequilanacv. pes-mulae

A. angustifolia ssp tequilana variegata

• Perhaps the origin of the cultivars were in situ with 4 landraces found.

Agave angustifoliassp. tequilana

cv azul

Tequilana’s flowers group

Azul Azul variegata Siguin Pata de mula

A. americana L. cv. Subtilis (chato or sahuayo)

Sisalanaecv or cultigen?

moraleño

Moraleño Pata de mula

Sisalanaecultivar or cultigen? bermejo

Agave rhodacantha Trelcv. zopilote

2008

1997

Conclusions in TAG Selection pressure

• XIX century, agaves for

tequila had low selection

pressure

• Tequila production used

traditional methods

• Sisalana group’s and other

agave cultivars were grown

in the same plots

Inter-species

Variability

Intra-specieAgave tequilana

Masal selection

Clonal selection

Species

High selection pressure

• Tequila laws only allowed the use of blue agave in the 1970’s,

so the selection pressure changed and other landraces were no

longer cultivated.

• The prohibition of landraces in tequila production negatively

influenced the traditional knowledge and conservation of

agave plants in the Tequila region by growers.

• Some authors have declared the genetic erosion in A. tequilana

to be one of the most important studied in crops.

Agave plants are not included as biofuels crops

• SEMARNAT, 2008• FAO, 2008

Challenge in agave production

Sustainable agriculture

•Economy•Social

•Environment

Papers sustainable agriculture in blue agave

1. Les appellations d’origine et les durabilités socio-économique et écologique : le cas de la tequila au Mexique (Bowen and Valenzuela, 2008)

2. Geographical Indications, terroir and socioeconomic and ecological sustainability: the case of tequila (Bowen and Valenzuela, 2009)

3. Isolation and characterization of Ty1-copia retrotransposon sequences in the blue agave (Agave tequilana Weber var. azul) and their development as SSAP markers for phylogenetic analysis (Bousios A., Saldana-Oyarzabal I., Valenzuela- Zapata A.G. y Word C. y Pearce S.R. 2007

4. Effects of soil management practices on soil fertility measurements on Agave tequilana plantations in Western Central Mexico (GOBEILLE Alayne ; YAVITT Joseph ; STALCUP Philip; VALENZUELA Ana. 2006.

One of the Policies dilemma about biofuels in Latin America

The compatibility between:

• the international competitiveness of agro-fuels and a

• socially inclusive and • Environmentally sustainable rural

development agendaLlambí, 2009

Thanks to my family, teachers and friends